Cartoon Network Leashes Nine Dog Christmas

Cartoon Network has gone to the dogs, inking a multi-year deal for broadcast rights to Earthworks Ent.’s animated holiday special, Nine Dog Christmas. The cable toon channel joins a number of international broadcasters that have embraced the show since its market launch earlier this year.

Narrated by James Earl Jones (The Lion King), Nine Dog Christmas tells the story of nine extraordinary stray dogs who come to Santa’s rescue when the reindeer flu threatens to cancel Christmas.

Earthworks’ president and CEO, Peter Keefe (Z Force), who produced Nine Dog Christmas and developed the property’s marketing strategy, says the company plans to expand the holiday special into a major new franchise that will include a sequel titled Nine Dog Night of Fright and a Nine Dog TV series.

International television market sales for Nine Dog Christmas are being handled by UK based Indigo Film & Television. The special will air on Disney channels in Italy, Germany, Asia and Taiwan, and on Fox Kids/Jetix networks throughout all of Latin America. Warner Home Video will distribute the title on DVD and VHS worldwide.

A clip of the Nine Dog Christmas can be viewed at www.EarthworksEntertainment.com.